SPOKANE, Wash. — Rain and hail fell Wednesday on the largest wildfire in the state's history. But there wasn't enough water to extinguish the flames.

"It was like the judgment day," fire spokeswoman Kris Erikson said of the intense thunderstorm. "It was major, but short.

"Will it put the fire out? No."

The Carlton Complex stands at more than 250,000 acres, or nearly 400 square miles, and is being fought by about 2,500 people. The fire has burned about 150 homes and is blamed for one death after a man died of a heart attack while hauling water and digging a fire line to protect his home. It is 52 percent contained.

The Wednesday storm raised humidity in the area of the Carlton Complex and prevented it from growing much, Erikson said.

However, lightning could spark new fires in the parched region fire spokesman Andrew Sandri said. And all the moisture could lead to flash floods because so much ground vegetation has been lost. The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood watch from Wednesday morning through evening.

Two other major fires are burning in north-central Washington.

The Chiwaukum Complex near Leavenworth has burned 12,225 acres, is 10 percent contained, and has 1,000 firefighters on the scene.

The Mills Canyon fire remains at 22,571 acres and is 90 percent contained.

Meanwhile in Oregon a band of thunderstorms moving across Oregon sparked dozens of new wildfires that crews chased Wednesday.

Oregon received 19,000 lightning strikes since Tuesday afternoon, resulting in at least 25 new fires covering a total of 160 acres, stretching from the southern Cascade Range northwest into central and northeastern Oregon, said Carol Connoll, Northwest Interagency Coordination Center spokesman.

A lot of rain accompanied many of the storms, so it is not clear how many of those new starts may grow into large fires.

Meanwhile, cooler temperatures and rain helped firefighters increase containment on the 11 large fires still burning across more than 935 square miles of central and northeastern Oregon since a string of lightning storms moved across the region 10 days ago. A total of 6,636 personnel were working on the fires.

The Buzzard Complex of fires was 90 percent contained after burning through 618 square miles of rangeland about 45 miles northeast of Burns. It was the biggest wildfire in the country so far this year.

The Waterman Complex of fires was 80 percent contained after burning 20 square miles of timber, brush and grass in the Ochoco Mountains around Mitchell. U.S. Highway 26 was open with speed restrictions.

The Bridge 99 Fire 20 miles north of Sisters was 50 percent contained after charring 9 square miles, mostly on the Deschutes National Forest.

The Shaniko Butte Complexof fires was 75 percent contained after burning 63 square miles of grass 15 miles north of Warm Springs.